BLM considering geothermal leases for energy development

Area near Tomichi Dome and Waunita Hot Springs gets noticed again

Waunita Hot Springs is tucked away in the hills north of Tomichi Creek and east of Gunnison, but it’s no secret. The pools of steaming spring water warmed deep in the earth have been drawing people to soak and reenergize for years.

Now there’s an effort under way to turn the same geothermal energy that created the hot springs into a way of generating relatively clean, renewable electricity in an environment where those qualities are very valuable.
 Right now, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association—the valley’s electricity producer—gets more than 70 percent of its electricity from “baseload resources” like coal, natural gas and oil-fired and combustion turbine generators.
While those baseload resources might be the long-trusted traditional fuel for electricity generation, Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA), which brings that power to the valley, is looking for more alternatives. A power plant fueled by geothermal energy near Tomichi Dome might be one of them.
The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management’s Gunnison field office got two block nominations for a total of nearly 9,000 acres of BLM and Forest Service land near Tomichi Dome and Waunita Hot Springs from Denver-based Flint Geothermal for energy production.
Geothermal power production means drilling wells thousands of feet deep to reach temperatures hot enough to turn water into steam that would turn generators and produce electricity. The design Flint is considering is an air-cooled binary geothermal power plant, but it’s a long way from becoming reality.
BLM realty specialist Marnie Medina says the BLM is still working through an environmental assessment that will help the agency determine if the leases should even be offered. If the leases do become available, it will only be through a competitive bidding process, which means Flint Geothermal isn’t guaranteed to get the contract.
Reaching a lease agreement between the BLM and an energy developer would be only the first step in a long process of exploration that might lead to development. But even developing the resource doesn’t mean large-scale energy production would ever start, Medina says.
“It’s a very step-oriented process. The exploration stage is just people walking around. The testing being done would be pretty low impact. That may or may not lead to development and then onto product,” she explained. “One does not necessarily lead to the next.”
Even with the oil and gas development template to work from, the BLM is still working in fairly fresh territory. Even though geothermal development is included in the BLM’s 1993 resource management plan, this is the first time lands have been nominated for geothermal lease in the Gunnison Basin in 35 years, according to the BLM.
In a statement, the BLM reported the last geothermal leases were applied for in 1974 and were for U.S. Forest System lands near the Waunita Hot Springs. Mobil Oil Corporation was the applicant, and withdrew its applications in 1991.
Currently, no public lands in Colorado are leased for geothermal energy development, but a large part of southeastern Gunnison County does look promising for geothermal electricity production, according to studies by the Colorado Geologic Survey.
The CGS lists more than a dozen locations in Colorado identified as having geothermal potential, with the most promising places in the San Juan Mountains and the San Luis Valley. A Cañon City company has asked the BLM’s Royal Gorge field office to lease lands for geothermal development in the Mt. Princeton area. Gunnison County has its own prospects.
As with any new and far-reaching idea, however, the proposal to develop the geothermal resources around Tomichi Dome and Waunita Hot Springs is drawing fire from private landowners and conservationists concerned for the safety of long-held water rights and for the Gunnison sage grouse.
The Gunnison sage grouse is currently being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
According to the BLM, the entire proposed lease area is within occupied Gunnison sage grouse habitat. Balancing the potential for generating cleaner electricity locally with the needs of the local wildlife is a concern for BLM Gunnison field office manager Brian St. George.
“This is a unique opportunity to explore the opportunities presented by geothermal renewable energy while ensuring the protection of our important natural resources,” St. George says. “Given the situation with Gunnison sage grouse and other wildlife species, it’s especially important that we hear from the public as we begin the environmental analysis.”
Gunnison County wildlife coordinator Jim Cochran said he also had some concerns that he was putting together for the BLM and USFS, but didn’t want to discuss those until they are made public June 24.
Medina says the BLM is trying to decide by the end of September whether or not to lease and under what conditions. The Forest Service is also conducting its own review of the proposal and if both agencies agree to a lease, the plan can move forward.